Chris Collingwood

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Chris Collingwood, born in 1968 in Pennsylvania, is a founding member of the power pop band Fountains of Wayne. His roles in the group include lead vocal, guitar, keyboard and he also writes songs for the band. Collingwood's major influences are The Beatles, The Zombies, The Hollies, Aztec Camera, and Blue Öyster Cult.

His side project is the alt-country band The Gay Potatoes. He also toured with Ben Lee in 2005.

Collingwood lives with his wife Linda in Northampton, Massachusetts. The couple married in 1996.

[edit] Gay Potatoes (side project)

The Gay Potatoes are a pop/country band fomed in Northampton, Massachusetts in August 2000. Sometimes also known as The Potatoes, the band's lineup reads like an all-star list of indie rock performers from the Northampton area. Songwriting and lead vocal duties are split between Chris Collingwood, Philip Price, and Henning Ohlenbusch, with each songwriter singing their own songs.

The Gay Potatoes' first known performance was in August 2000 and Northampton's annual Transperformance concert, in which the band performed covers of songs by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Interestingly, Lloyd Cole himself joined the band as their bass player for this show.

The Gay Potatoes' first concert at which they performed their own songs was on August 31, 2000 at the late Bay State Hotel in Northampton, Massachusetts. Cole also joined the band on bass at this show for a cover of Cole's Undressed. The band also played a cover of Carrie Anne by The Hollies.

In July 2001, the Gay Potatoes opened for Collingwood's fellow Fountains of Wayne member Adam Schlesinger's band Ivy at the Iron Horse Music Hall in Northampton. Collingwood and Schlesinger also played a short acoustic set as Fountains of Wayne.

The Gay Potatoes have not been active as a band since August 2003, as the members of the band have been concentrating on other projects.

The band has recorded together, but has not pubilicly released any studio recordings. A few bootleg recordings of live performances by the band have been circulated on the internet, and studio versions of several of the band's songs can be found on albums or demos released by Fountains of Wayne, School for the Dead, and Philip Price.

[edit] Group members

Chris Collingwood (Fountains of Wayne) - vocals, guitar
Philip Price (musician) (Winterpills,The Maggies) - vocals, guitar
Henning Ohlenbusch (School for the Dead, The Aloha Steamtrain, Mark Mulcahy) - vocals, bass guitar
Brian Marchese (School for the Dead, The Aloha Steamtrain, Lo Fine) - drums